Life was better here, the father explained as we settled ourselves on thin mattresses in their living room. The floor was bare; save for a blue UNHCR straw mat, which formed the centerpiece of the dark room, a memento from the road.

As tensions are rising between Baghdad and Erbil, Kurdistan President, Mas'ud Barzani, has called a meeting for the Kurdish Bloc that will be held tomorrow in Erbil and the main theme of the discussions will be Kurdistan Region's disputes with Baghdad.